The mixture of a situation comedy and a mockumentary had been done before on TV. Both versions of The Office used this technique and look how successful that was.

Instead of a workplace, Modern Family focuses on family, clues in the name. Three different households who are all related to each other through the patriarch of the family, Jay Pritchett. One household is Jay with his new wife Gloria and new stepson Manny. Both are outgoing with Gloria’s shouts of “JAY” still ringing in my head. Manny, on the other hand, is more level-headed and is more aged for his age and is a bit of a romantic. Gloria is from Columbia with a heavy accent, which leads to miscommunications, which leads to comedy, but leads to issues that border on racism, which the show tackles with taste.

Next is his son, Mitchell Pritchett, and his husband, Cameron, who adopt the baby Lily in the very first episode. Cameron seems like your stereotypical gay man but has a lot of interests that straight men have. Mitch likes to think of himself as a modern gay man and not stereotypical but has his moments where he lets himself go. The portrayal of two gay men who adopt is taken very seriously, and though they have lots of comical moments together, they do face realistic issues.

Next up we have, in my opinion, the best family on the show. Jay’s daughter Claire Dunphy and her husband Phil. Claire is very much a control freak and micromanages a lot while being a bit overprotective of their daughters Haley and Alex and their young son Luke, which leads to many told you so hijinks. Phil is a more laid-back parent who says more than he does, including that step, which needs fixing. It is also shown that he has ADHD early on but is not diagnosed, which leads him to try stuff and fail. Hayley and Alex are your classic opposite sisters. Hayley is the oldest child, and Alex is the middle one. Hayley is a street-smart girl who is popular at school, has many friends, and loves to party. Alex is the mirror opposite. She is a straight-A student who’s not popular with a few friends. Her smarts also allow her to get one over on her sister, who doesn’t know better. Luke is more like his dad. His head is in the clouds, and he often acts before thinking and is the butt of many a joke.

It is filmed in a style similar to The Office, where instead of a traditional camera setup, it is a moving camera, which gives it the mockumentary style, and the actors often spike the camera. There’s no fourth wall as
That is what makes it work. The bits where the family members sit and talk to the camera about scenes we are watching elevate the tension, comedy, and drama.

The show ran for 11 seasons between 2009 and 2020, which allowed the audience to watch the kids grow up on screen. It is a show I would recommend 100%.